GEAPS offers anti-icing system
GE Aeroderivative and Package Services (GEAPS) now offers an anti-icing system, easily retrofittable on all GE LM aeroderivative gas turbine packages.
Because of its stand-alone design, no power loss occurs when using the system versus a traditional engine bleed anti-icing arrangement. GEAPS unveiled the new system at Power-Gen International in Orlando in mid-November.
The gas-fired system connects directly to a new set of gas turbine inlet air heating coils provided as part of this upgrade. The system also can be coupled to an existing chiller coil/piping arrangement.
The anti-icing system heats a mixture of ethylene glycol and water that in turn heats the gas turbine inlet air. The system adjusts to operate in a variety of sites with diverse ambient temperatures and altitudes.
During shutdown periods with extended standby and quick start-up requirements, this system can be set to periodically fire. A minimum heating circuit temperature will be maintained to ensure anti-ice heating before and during engine start-ups.
Because the system is fully controllable, it doesn't require operator attendance. However, the operational logic can be configured from fully automatic to manual with tunable limits for site specific preferences to allow for variable heating output.
Product features
The anti-icing system pumps glycol at 800 gallons per minute, keeping the glycol heated between 150°F and 180°F. The system design raises the ambient inlet air temperature by 15°F or to 43°F, depending on which occurs first. (Note: GE specifies icing conditions as ambient temperatures less than 0°F with greater than 64% relative humidity. For temperatures between 0°F and 43°F, the curve ranges from 64% to 75% relative humidity.)
Depending on the customer's needs, the heater system can be sized to increase the ambient temperature higher than 15°F above anti-icing needs to keep the gas turbine output at maximum efficiency. This results in higher MW output and less fuel usage.
The anti-icing system comes with a relative humidity sensor connected directly to the controls. A signal from the humidity sensor determines if icing conditions exist and if the anti-icing system needs to be turned on when ambient temperatures drop below 43°F. The anti-icing system operates only when required, reducing excess parasitic electrical load from circulation pumps and lessening heating system fuel consumption.
Availability
GEAPS distributes the anti-icing system, which is sized for single or multiple LM original or after-market gas turbine packages. A typical heater skid is about 15-foot-wide by 40-foot-long and can be provided with options such as a skid-mounted expansion tank and a small pump and piping system to remove and add the water/glycol mixture.
GEAPS can install the system on site in about one week, with gas turbine downtime of one day for software upgrades. Installation of the anti-icing coils, if needed, takes an additional three days.
The anti-icing system comes on all new LM packages through S&S Energy Products. For example, two LM6000 PD gas turbine-generator packages at two power plants in Wyoming are now equipped with similar anti-icing heaters. One system is currently operational, with plenty of use expected this winter.
Edited by April C. Murelio, Managing Editor, Power Online
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